Editing Oskar Schindler (section)

==Spy for the ''Abwehr''==
Schindler joined the separatist [[Sudeten German Party]] in 1935.{{sfn|Crowe|2004|p=16}} Although a citizen of [[Czechoslovakia]], Schindler became a spy for the ''[[Abwehr]]'', the military intelligence service of [[Nazi Germany]], in 1936. He was assigned to ''Abwehrstelle II Commando VIII'', based in [[Breslau]].{{sfn|Crowe|2004|p=17}} He later told Czech police that he did it because he needed the money; by this time Schindler had a drinking problem and was chronically in debt.{{sfn|Crowe|2004|p=19}}

His tasks for the ''Abwehr'' included collecting information on railways, military installations and troop movements, as well as recruiting other spies within Czechoslovakia in advance of Nazi Germany's planned invasion.{{sfn|Crowe|2004|pp=22, 24–25}} He was arrested by the Czech government for espionage on 18 July 1938 and immediately imprisoned; he was released as a political prisoner under the terms of the [[Munich Agreement]], the instrument under which the Czech [[Sudetenland]] was annexed by Germany on 1 October.{{sfn|Crowe|2004|pp=40–41}}{{sfn|Evans|2005|p=674}} Schindler applied for membership in the [[Nazi Party]] on 1 November and was accepted the following year.{{sfn|Crowe|2004|pp=46–47}}

After some time off to recover in Zwittau, Schindler was promoted to second in command of his ''Abwehr'' unit and relocated with his wife to [[Ostrava]] (Ostrau), on the Czech-Polish border, in January 1939.{{sfn|Crowe|2004|pp=48, 51}} He was involved in espionage in the months leading up to Hitler's seizure of the remainder of Czechoslovakia in March. Emilie helped him with paperwork, processing and hiding secret documents in their apartment for the ''Abwehr'' office.{{sfn|Crowe|2004|pp=53–54}} As Schindler frequently travelled to Poland on business, he and his 25 agents were in a position to collect information about Polish military activities and railways for the planned [[invasion of Poland]].{{sfn|Crowe|2004|pp=18, 54, 63}} One assignment called for his unit to monitor and provide information about the railway line and tunnel in the [[Jablunkov Pass]], deemed critical for the movement of German troops.{{sfn|Crowe|2004|p=56}} Schindler continued to work for the ''Abwehr'' until as late as fall 1940, when he was sent to Turkey to investigate corruption among the ''Abwehr'' officers assigned to the German embassy there.{{sfn|Crowe|2004|pp=291–292}}